Rosie thought that she was used to Tony's lavish properties-after all, she lived in one-but this house managed to render her speechless for a minute. It was built right on the edge of a cliff which went down to the sea. The house itself was massive and oozed luxury with its high tech look and posh exterior and any doubts that Rosie had about coming here vanished. It was not advisable to leave Tony all alone in such a huge place with only his J.A.R.V.I.S and the bots for company.

As soon as she stepped inside, J.A.R.V.I.S. greeted her, "Welcome to the Malibu Residence, Miss. Rosie. Boss is in the workshop and asked not to be disturbed. Would you like me to guide you to your room?"

"Yes, please."

After setting out the few belongings she had brought with her, Rosie made her way to the room next to Tony's workshop where he kept his previous models of the suits in glass cases. He had listened to her concerns about having back-up suits just in case some got damaged, so there were now two working models of each version of Iron Man, bringing the total number of suits to 10. Most of them did not have any weapons, but they were connected to J.A.R.V.I.S. Rosie broke into the suits' coding once by one and added a new protocol to allow J.A.R.V.I.S to control the suits on his own if she gave him a particular access code.

Rosie hoped there wouldn't be an circumstance where it was needed, but it was always better to be prepared. The Senate hearing had shown her that people were attempting to recreate the tech. Sure, what had been shown had been a bust, but it was always possible that someone would figure it out and chances were really high that they would use it for nefarious purposes.

It took her ages to change the coding and check that everything was hunky-dory. Dead tired with her long journey and hours of intense concentration, she collapsed on a couch in the living room and switched on the T.V. Putting on the newest Star Wars movie, she got drowsier and drowsier until she finally fell asleep, curled up in a corner of the couch.

She stirred slightly when she felt herself being moved and opened her eyes a tiny crack to see Uncle Tony carrying her back to her room. He had evidently just come out of the workshop, seeing that he smelt of oil, grease and smoke and was wearing one of his grease-stained 'work' shirts. However, it was his uneven breathing that concerned her. He seemed to be having difficulties inhaling and exhaling, kind of how people with broken ribs did, but he didn't have any broken ribs at the moment, did he?

Her head was resting on his collarbone, so she could see the side of his neck quite clearly without him noticing that she was awake. Her half-lidded eyes saw something really dark both on his neck and shoulder. She squinted her eyes a little and tried to figure out what she was seeing. It looked as if someone had drawn lines on his neck with black ink or something... Eh, it was most probably motor oil that he managed to spill on himself.

Her eyes were drooping again by the time he gently laid her down on the bed and tucked her in. Rosie felt a small kiss on her forehead, and heard him whisper, "Sleep well, kiddo. Don't end up becoming a mess like me, okay?" Before the light was switched off and she heard the door close. Despite her valiant efforts to stay awake and confront Tony, Rosie's exhaustion won and she felt herself falling asleep once again.

Over the next few weeks, Rosie tried her best to find out what was wrong with Tony, but all her efforts were in vain. Tony was acting even more recklessly, with even lesser regard for his personal safety than before. He kept to the workshop, ignoring all safety and health precautions, even going as far as setting up strong enough firewalls to prevent her from hacking into JARVIS to be able to come into the workshop. Every few hours, she would leave a tray of food outside the door and ask J.A.R.V.I.S to inform Tony to eat. The trays would mostly be empty the next time she came, but she never even got a glimpse of Tony for three full weeks.

One fine day, as Rosie was lounging on the couch and talking to MARLENE, Tony just walked up to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of some drink from his alcohol cabinet. She was surprised by that. Despite his reputation as an alcoholic, she had seen him drink only a handful of times in the past year and that too when under high levels of stress. Now, he'd appeared upstairs for the first time in weeks and the first thing he does is drink?

Something bad must have happened for him to resort to alcohol again. He turned, and Rosie got a look at his neck, which was completely normal. No creepy black lines. Rosie couldn't figure out what was causing those black marks she'd seen the other day. Now, she wasn't even sure whether she had actually seen those marks in the first place. Maybe she had imagined it in her half-asleep state. Uncle Tony was fine, he was just working on some super-secret project that he can't tell me about... Yeah, that's what's happening.

"Hey, Tony. Got some free time? I've been working on this A.I, and it would help if you could take a look at it and give some advice."

He joined her on the couch, and held out his hand for the tab, drink still in the other hand. Scrolling through her meticulously written lines of code, he pointed out some areas where improvements could be made and gave her a few tips as well. "If you want to, you can have a look at some of my earlier drafts of J.A.R.V.I.S. They should be there somewhere... Hey J, do you know where it is?"

"Of course, Boss. I can download the data to Miss Rosie's device right now if she wants."

"It would be a lot of help if you do that, Jar. Thanks!" She said.

Tony chuckled, "You're the only person I've ever seen that thanks an A.I. I've gotta get back to work, but I'm rooting for you, kid. You can do it." He got up to leave, but Rosie grabbed his wrist.

"You can't just leave like that after weeks of ignoring everyone! I'm gonna need an explanation, Uncle Tony!"

He didn't reply.

"Aunt Pep was almost in tears the last time we had a girls' night. She kept thinking that she had overstepped her boundaries as a PA and that you shifted here to get away from her! Dad's thinking that you're staying away from everyone because you're mad at him! Happy actually started talking to me, coz he doesn't have a job to do as your bodyguard with you staying in your lab or workshop all the time!"

Hesitating, she continued, "Or is it something I did? Are you mad at me? I shouldn't have distracted you from your work so much and I'm sorry for being in your way, Tony. Do you want me to leave? I-"

Tony put his glass down and gave her a hug. "Hey, I'm not mad at you. I could never be mad you, short-stack. I'm not mad at anyone else either, okay?"

He paused for sometime, interlacing his fingers together as he gathered his thoughts, "Gosh, I'm bad with emotions. It's-It's just that, ugh, how do I put it? Umm... I started working on an important project back at home, it took up quite a lot of time, and I, uh wasn't supposed to tell you what I was doing? So, I didn't let you in the lab. I wasn't getting very far with it, so I decided to move here. This was where I made my first proper suit, and I thought that being in my original workshop might help me."

"W-why didn't you say that, then?"

"It never entered my head that all of you would think I'm angry with you. I just needed space, I didn't think I needed to explain that."

"And now?"

"Now, I've finished that project, but I like it here. I don't want to move back to the Tower. No paparazzi, less polluted air and less work."

"What do you mean, less work? Aren't you still the CEO of SI?" Rosie asked, curious.

"I'm thinking of turning it over to Pepper, actually. I've never liked all those stuffy meetings with the idiotic managers who always assumed that they could one-up me. I think that both of us can agree that Pepper's better at it than I am." He gave a small smile.

"Yeah. She's scary and a total badass who likes the cutthroat side of the business better. I think Aunt Pep will make a great CEO."

Tony laughed, "You've summed up Pepper perfectly. I'm sorry that I couldn't make you two co-CEO's or something. Legal wouldn't let me put in a clause about you taking over half of Pepper's job when you're old enough to."

Rosie was dumbstruck. "Are you serious? ME? The co-CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world?"

"You would have done a great job!"

"Hell no. Uncle Tony, I might have a high I.Q, but my social skills are in the low twenties. I'd rather die than be forced to interact with all those people on a daily basis, especially with so much hanging in the balance. Pissing off potential business contacts and investors is a bad idea. You did the right thing in letting Pepper do it. She's gotten used to the limelight and doesn't mind it as much as I do. Frankly speaking, I'd probably have a heart attack if you told me to talk to a reporter, forget about a press conference. I'm better suited to staying in the shadows and helping by inventing stuff in your lab, so I'd love to keep doing that."

He seemed rather relieved that she wasn't mad at him. "You know, most people wouldn't say no to being CEO of a Fortune-500 company."

"That's the thing, you see. I'm not most people."

After their little talk, things went back to normal, or they almost did. Rosie felt that Tony was still hiding something from her, but she never confronted him about it. He had the right to keep secrets. Deciding to abandon that issue in the absence of further evidence, she helped Tony plan the surprise announcement that Pepper was going to be the new CEO.

About a week later, as Rosie sat and watched Tony have his boxing lesson with Happy, there was a call from Pepper. She answered it, seeing that the two men were busy. "Hey Pep? What's up?"

"Is Tony with you?"

"Yeah. We're in the training room. He's having his self-defence lesson with Happy. LEFT HOOK, TONY! NOW RIGHT JAB! Ugh, for all his genius, he fights like an idiot. He'll need a lot more time to improve."

"What about your classes?"

"Holiday. Why did you call, Pep?"

"The notary's here. We're going to need his signature on some papers to finalise the transfer of power."

"Ooohhh... I can see it now, Virginia Potts, CEO of Stark Industries. In your face, you sexist morons!"

A chuckle, "I'm coming right now. We're nearly at the door."

"I'll have J.A.R.V.I.S let you in."

"See you." She hung up.

"Jar, can you let Aunt Pepper and whoever's with her in?"

"Of course, Miss Rosie."

A few minutes later, Pepper walked in. "The notary's here! Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?"

Tony, being his sarcastic self, answered, "I'm on Happy time!" before elbowing the man in the face.

Happy was pissed, "What the hell was that?"

"It's called mixed martial arts. It's been around for three weeks."

"It's called dirty boxing, there's nothing new about it." Happy retorted.

Rosie decided to add in her opinion too, "Sorry, Happy, but I don't give a shit about how Tony fights as long as he manages to keep himself safe."

Just as Tony opened his mouth for another sarcastic comment, a woman with reddish-brown hair walked in. She seemed surprised to see Rosie there, but she quickly schooled her expression to an emotionless one again. Pepper called out, "I promise this is the only time I'll ask to sign over the company."

Tony laughed, "Maybe I should have gone with my earlier decision and given it to the kid. She wouldn't have been so bossy about it. Whadd'ya say, Rosie? I still haven't signed the papers. You've still got a chance." He asked her, grabbing his 'energy drink'.

"Not interested. I can't do world domination if I've got a company to run. You know how it is." Rosie wasn't sure where the snarky comments were coming from, but she enjoyed their banter, especially after the last few weeks of him avoiding her.

"I get it. Don't want anything dragging you down, huh?"

The woman spoke up, looking annoyed at being completely ignored, "I need you to initial each box."

Happy smacked Tony upside the head when he turned to look at the woman, "Never take your eyes off-" Rosie watched, biting her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud as Tony kicked Happy and he went crashing into the side of the ring. "That's it, I'm done!" he announced, stepping out of the ring. Rosie let out a small giggle at Uncle Tony's antics, recognising his full-on diva mode. "What's your name, lady?" He asked the notary.

"Rushman, Natalie Rushman." That caused a little warning sign to pop up in Rosie's head. Most people did not introduce themselves like James Bond, unless they've gotten used to being called by their last names. She suddenly had a flashback to all the actresses who played MI6 agents in the movie. Perfect posture, hair groomed to perfection, on spot makeup, athletic build... Natalie Rushman seemed a lot like them. It might just be the movies speaking, but Rosie began to doubt Miss. Rushman. People who worked in the field of law needed good poker faces, but a completely emotionless one like this woman?

She decided to keep an eye on the woman, just in case she was not who she claimed to be. Rosie spent a lot more time analysing people before she trusted them. Call her paranoid, but after what happened with Arnold, she didn't trust people very easily.

She watched as Tony asked Natalie to step into the ring and told Happy to give her a lesson. When she heard that Natalie knew how to fight, Rosie asked if she could referee the fight, recognising the 'I'm-sick-of-this-nonsense' expression on the woman's face. Happy agreed and Rosie got off the chair she was sitting on and went to stand next to the ring, too far to hear what Tony and Pepper were saying. Feeling a stab of pity for Happy, Rosie watched as Natalie turned her head to talk to Tony and Happy said, "Rule number one, never take eyes off your opponent."

He swung his arm, but before he could hit her, Natalie grabbed his hand, locked her legs over his neck and flipped him over her head. Happy landed with a loud thud, and gave a tiny groan. This caused major alarm bells to go off in Rosie's head. That move was definitely not something a notary should be able to pull off. Rosie knew how difficult the move was, having never been able to pull off a simpler version of it to date. "Oh my god! Happy?" Pepper exclaimed.

Deciding to test the woman, Rosie asked politely, "Miss Rushman? Do you mind having a spar with me? My instructor's not in town and I've gone a few days without practice." Natalie raised an eyebrow, before looking over at Tony and Pepper, as if asking for permission.

Tony made a go-ahead gesture, and Pepper called out, "Good luck, honey!" Rosie grinned, before tying up her hair in a ponytail and jumping into the ring.

They circled around each other cautiously, keeping an eye out for weaknesses, and Rosie noticed the almost imperceptible surprise in Natalie's face as she took in her perfect stance and movements. She saw the tiny twitch the other woman made, exactly the same as she had done earlier while fighting with Happy and realised that she was trying to pull off the same move again. Ducking down just in time, Rosie grabbed her opponent's legs and forced them off of her neck mid-flip to land upright. She faked a punch to the woman's stomach and instead landed a butterfly kick to her face when her guard was down. Natalie was quick to recover and retaliated with a series of jabs, punches and kicks that Rosie recognised. It was one of the classic combinations taught in mixed martial arts. The actual one, that is. Not Tony's version.

This was one of the first things that Yuki had taught Rosie to overcome, and Rosie executed the counter-moves perfectly, muscle memory taking over. Not a single move hit her where it was supposed to. As soon as the last spinning kick ended, Rosie retaliated with a roundhouse kick to Natalie's abdomen and a left hook to her head at the same time. Quickly executing a backflip over the woman, Rosie swiped at her legs from behind, causing the woman to fall to her knees.

She decided to test her theory of Natalie not being a lawyer and pulled off a move that Yuki had told her was taught only to high-level agents in various organisations. It was a complicated move, consisting of three different locks, two holds and a weird half-spinning, half roundabout kick. As she expected, Natalie blocked all of them, and even executed the counter-move, pinning Rosie to the ground and sitting on her back with her arm twisted behind her and her legs trapped due to the woman's weight. Rosie's theory had been proved, therefore she forfeited despite knowing how to get out of that position. Natalie Rushman, if that was even her name, was definitely a trained Agent of some kind.

Natalie got off of her and offered Rosie a hand, helping her up. "You're really good, kid."

"Thank you, Miss Rushman. It was nice sparring with you." She jumped out of the ring, slightly sweaty from the ordeal. Happy clapped her on the back, "You did good, kid. All that time training is paying off, huh?"

Pepper gave her a hug. "You've improved so much since I last saw you! Malibu's good for you! I do miss our girls' nights, though. They were fun while they lasted."

Just then, Tony spoke up. "Guess what, girls?"

"What?" Rosie and Pepper snapped at the same time, annoyed at him for spoiling their little moment.

"I'd like you to meet my new P.A, Natalie."

Rosie hated Tony impulsiveness at times, and this was definitely among the top 5 incidents. Minimal to no background check, just saw her and hired her? Rosie wanted to yell at him and knock some sense into his head, but she decided to find out more about this Natalie Rushman before accusing her of anything. She remembered what Arnold had said about her mother working in S.H.I.E.L.D and Rhodey mentioning in passing that Yuki did too, and decided that she was going to try and hack into their files to see if they had anything on Natalie. Till then, it was better to stay on her good side.